French payments company Worldline has entered exclusive talks to sell its TSS terminals business to U.S. firm Apollo Funds in a deal potentially worth around $2.6bn, lifting Worldline’s shares.
Analysts welcomed the sale, which investment bank JP Morgan said represented a higher-than-expected value for TSS.
The deal would comprise a €1.7bn upfront consideration as well as preferred shares that could reach up to €0.9bn in value depending on how TSS does in future.
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Worldline’s shares rose 3.5% in early trading.
The financial technology and payments sectors have witnessed several big takeover deals in recent years as the growing use of smartphones for online payments has sparked competition to develop new systems, often requiring large investments.
Worldline, which bought French rival Ingenico in 2020 in a €7.8bn deal, said the sale of TSS to Apollo would help cut its debt and simplify its corporate structure.
Source: Reuters
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